This Panthers investor is giving away millions he made from the team’s sale

The Charlotte nonprofit Foundation for the Carolinas said Monday it has been given a $30 million contribution from a Carolina Panthers investor donating some of his proceeds from the recent sale of the team.

The investor, Derick Springsteen Close, was among those who sold the franchise to hedge fund manager David Tepper, in a $2.275 billion purchase made official last week. Close’s donation represents a “sizable” percentage of the proceeds he realized from the sale, foundation officials said.

In a statement, Close said he and his family were “very pleased” to make the gift, adding: “The success of both the team and the initial investment is a result of this community, and we are committed to investing in local nonprofits serving those in need throughout the Carolinas.”

Close, part of an 11-member group of limited partners at the time of the sale, was an initial investor when the NFL awarded a football team to the Carolinas in 1993. His donation is to the Springsteen Foundation, a fund held at Foundation for the Carolinas.

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